ANTS AND ANT LIFE. 85 



'Studied these animals, and had found system and order in 

 the apparent confusion. Amid the stirring work and move- 

 ment of the little creatures I soon noticed that six or eight 

 ants were busied in pushing away a green caterpillar, at 

 least two inches long, which was clinging painfully to a dry 

 twig. This appeared very difficult if not impossible for 

 them, as the caterpillar, which was far superior in strength 

 to the small creatures, would not yield to them and only held 

 on the more firmly. I called back my companions, who had 

 walked on, and willingly as we would have delivered the 

 poor caterpillar out of the hands of its assailants, the spec- 

 tacle was too interesting to spoil. As the ants now appeared 

 to perceive the uselessness of their former efforts, they sud- 

 denly, as though directed by a single will, united their 

 strength and forced the caterpillar on to its back, in which 

 position it could 110 longer hold fast, and must await its fate, 

 for good or for evil. Some of the ants pulled at their 

 victim, others helped by pushing, and so it went stormily to 

 one of the small entrances of the dwelling and down into 

 Hades, whereiiito we saw the caterpillar slowly disappear 

 for evermore." 



E. Menault (" L'Intelligence des Animaux," Paris, 1872, 

 p. 6), when he was one day walking with Herr H. Delafoy, 

 a scientific friend, saw a number of ants busy in drawing the 

 wing of a cockchafer through the entrance of their nest. 

 Various methods, tried in various ways, failed, owing to the 

 narrowness of the opening. So the industrious little animals 

 began to widen the opening over and over again until the 

 passage was large enough. Another time Menault noticed a 

 single ant pulling a rose-chafer's leg with great effort and 

 loss of time over very unfavorable ground. At last, when 

 she got near the nest, her sisters came to her assistance, and 

 the booty was soon secured by their joint efforts. The way 

 in which ants close and watch the entrances and outlets of 

 their nests is also very interesting. Generally a number of 

 small openings are made on the top of the ant-hill, which 

 are closed by the workers in the evening, or when it rains, 

 or on the approach of danger, and are re-opened when 

 wanted. At other times the openings are made at the side 

 and are very much hidden. Often there is only a chief 

 opening with several secondary ones. In still other cases, 

 no opening is visible, and is only to be found, as already 



